Professional Project: Second Year

First Practical Session

First Practical Session
Whitespace Pods
Date: 14/01/15
Time: 11:00 - 12:00

Group met up for the first time. We were introduced and this was the first time ideas were discussed.

We talked about a point and click game as none in the group are particularly confident with flash. This idea was dismissed however as matching up all the art styles would be difficult, as would forming a coherent story. There would also be risk of putting things together last minute or large sections being missing if people didn't turn up ect.
We also discussed a tower defense game. Doug, a member of my group, was very happy to make this kind of game having had experience with that sort of coding before and said he was happy to lead with the technical aspects. We discussed doing this game with a variety of levels and end of level bosses.
Finally we discussed the idea of a platforming game combined with a brawler, getting to the top of the level whilst fighting enemies on the way.

Secondly the group discussed themes for the game.

We discussed ideas such as space and Japanese fashion but decided these were too commonplace. We all realized that all the members of our group are very interested in mythology so that was a direction we all wanted to look at together. We discussed using Egyptian or Greek mythology mainly.

Following the discussion we have put together a group Facebook page as a primary means of contact. On this page we will discuss throughout the week anything that expands on our existing idea and form a final idea in a weeks time, for when the contracts are drawn up. After this, when the game idea has been finalized, we have said we will meet at least twice a week, once in the scheduled time slot and another time such as a Monday. Due to scheduling conflicts between group members and personal commitments we have not yet been able to find a time. A few group members are rearranging other commitments that are alterable so we can all find another time to meet up together.

Notes from session:

Entertainment Design Game Types
* Point and Click
* Possible Characters (with dialogue)
* Platform
* Tower Defence (elaborate on Doug’s previous game)
Possible Locations
* Space
* Mythology (Egyptian, Greek, Nordic)
* Cathedral
* Japan
Stories
* One Protagonist
* Cluedo type mystery (Professor Layton)
* Exploration (labyrinth)

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Moodboard

I have collected together a first, initial moodboard of mythological things. I realized as I was making this that as we haven't really narrowed down a precise enough theme yet I had no idea where I was going with this. Due to this, I kind of just googled "Greek mythos" and picked the stuff that stuck out to me. The image of the girl and the bear actually, really gets me, so I will probably develop this before I next see my team.

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Second Moodboard

Like I said before the drawing (by Alan Lee - ma fave) really reminds me of Child of Light. Well, not REALLY reminds me but it made me think of it. So I was thinking I'd like to develop this idea to a presentation-able amount for the next meetup.

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Idea Generation

Very quick sketch between classes. Obviously this would just be an initial idea that would need a lot of working up and trying with different themes.
The basic idea is sort of small girl/big bear companion. Would make quite good combo moves i think.

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Colour/Style Variations

Two more variations.

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Another Variation

Cerberus bear?

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Another Girl Design

Anubis-y

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Anubis Design (non-human)

Sort of given up on the whole idea of drawing skill, but hey, still wanna get some stuff out so, sketchy :)

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Tribal Drawing and Week 2 Meetup

Okay, I don't think this will work for something that needs to be animated, but all the oldy worldy stuff inspired me. Maybe I can make something simpler of this?

Week 2 Meet Up
Whitespace Pods
Date: 21/01/15
Time: 11:00-12:00

Discussed ideas generated throughout the week and decided to go with the idea of a multi-player with contrasting characters. For example my small girl and big bear. For a meet up on Sunday the group was to come up with narrative ideas, possible contrasting abilities and moodboards/sketches of themes/artstyles/ideas.

We also discussed preliminary team roles:

Production: Dimitar, Simeon
Design:
* Level Design: Natalie, Michael, Dimitar
* Art Assets Design: Douglas, Brody, Luke, Sophie
* Narrative Design: Dimitar, Brody, Simeon, Sophie
* Sound: eventually….
Art: Douglas, Brody, Luke, Sophie
Animation: Douglas, Dimitar, Brody, Sophie
Code: Michael, Simeon, Dimitar

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The Super Moodboard

Something like 8 moodboards stuck together on an A1 document for efficiency in viewing them :P

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Naff Story Ideas

I totally forgot to think of narrative ideas for out Sunday group meeting (tomorrow) and my imagination is completely escaping me tonight so, here are some generated starting points:
(I wanted to go in with something that we would be able to build on).

The story is about a cowardly king who must outwit a faerie, defeat a giant, and save a prince to defeat a tyrant.

The story is about a shy princess who must leave home, outwit a witch, and find a magic ring to defeat a tyrant.

The story is about a brave princess who must find a magic ring, evade an unwanted lover, and solve a mystery to outwit a witch.

The story is about an adventurous princess who must outwit a witch, solve a mystery, and save a prince to break a curse. Assistance comes in the form of a wise old woman.

The story is about a brave wizard who must overcome three challenges, defeat a giant, and attend a dance to solve three riddles.

The story is about an adventurous soldier who must slay a monster, evade an unwanted lover, and save a prince to find a magic ring.

The story is about a lonely queen who must outwit a witch, and solve three riddles to overcome three challenges. Assistance comes in the form of a magic horse.

The story is about a lonely girl who must evade an unwanted lover, save a prince, and save a princess to outwit a witch.

The story is about a shy prince who must evade an unwanted lover, save a prince, and solve a mystery to escape an arrogant king.

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Sunday Meet Up

Sunday (Mid-Week) Meet up
Whitespace Pods
Date: 25/01/15
Time: 12:00-13:35 ish

We got together to further plans for our game:
Game(Title Pending)

Origami Girl (paper) and Golem (rock) in a forest. Helping each other reach the top of the tree through a series of puzzles.
The game starts when the Golem (Player One) comes across a Paper Girl (player Two) trapped under a rock, after he saves her she explains how she fell from the top of the tree and needs to get back to her family. Both players have different abilities to help them solve each puzzle, the Girl can double jump and glide reaching higher places and the Golem has a heavy attack and can use his weight to trigger platforms etc.
Possible level design/mechanics would be fire for a lift, so the Paper Girl would use that for a boost and the Golem would be indestructible and she could climb on top of him to pass through hazardous elements of the environment.
The object of the game is to clear the levels and keep the Paper Girl safe, the Golem can’t lose health but if she dies you have to restart the level.

For out next get together on Wednesday the artists need to come up with character and environment concepts. The team members doing code will get some of the preliminary code working.

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First Concept Idea For Wednesday

Did this when I got back from the group meeting when the idea was fresh in my mind. Its something I can build on before Wednesday. I'm not sure too much about how this would work in game with all that hair. I mean I suppose you could always do a separate, internal movie clip inside all the animations for the hair. Do it separately. It would be a pain but do-able. Although, this is more of a concept-y idea than a final in game one, which would be simplified probably. And also the cranes in the hair wouldn't be there. The cranes are just there for me cause I thought they looked pretty, and symbolize how in the group meet up today we talked about having the girl turn into a paper crane when she jumps.
Shows three variations of the design.

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Some More Variations